Albion huffed and looked away, curling in on himself a bit more. "It's not like I especially want to be the heir. I've got two older siblings and I'm still the one who has to try and fix all the issues father is causing. He doesn't even care anymore because he can just force all of his problems onto me." He sighed, drawing in a wavering breath as he shifted his positioning. "A-And I can't be friends with the guards. They're only ever exasperated with me because I keep going off and doing this sort of thing. And I have different ones pretty frequently, so I'm sure that some of them are losing their jobs because they couldn't keep an eye on me." Albion tightened his arms around his stomach, looking down at the ground. Why am I telling her all of this? She probably already knows, or doesn't care.
Sophia tiptoed through the library, her heart pounding in her chest. She had just managed to find a break between her tasks, and hopefully no one would be looking for her now. Still, the thought that someone was watching her kept her from fully relaxing. No one was around though. She knew her love had made sure of that.
Her love… her cheeks were already heating up, though because of shame or excitement, she couldn’t tell.
Deeper and deeper into library she went, the cold light from the windows getting dimmer and dimmer, blocked by walls and shelves. But she knew where she was going, she’d come here many times.
She turned a corner and found him there, in their usual spot. A smile pulled at her lips.
“Hey birdie,” she murmured.
She sighed, listening to him talk about it all, she felt for him and wished she could take everything off his shoulders but that's not exactly how things worked.
She put a hand on his shoulder, "I know…I'm sorry that it's this way, I'd take over for you if I could but even then I feel like I would just end up screwing it up even worse then Dad."
She moves to pull him into a hug, a good one.
"Im sorry Albion…I really am…I wish I could help you with all of this, and I'm sorry dad's such a jerk."
She continues to hold him close in a hug, trying to show him that she did care, she wasn't like there parents and she wanted him to be happy AND safe.
Albion closed his eyes when Jasper hugged him, but didn't return the gesture both out of pride and because he was still clutching his injury. "Yeah, yeah… it isn't like we can do anything to change it anyway. I just need to keep quiet and do what I'm told. That's what they always say." He sighed and buried his face in his sister's shoulder, looking tired. "I suppose we should head back inside before my guards burst in here looking for me. They might startle the horses." He rubbed at his eyes a bit with one hand as he walked off, his breathing wavering. I should probably get checked out to make sure I'm not too badly injured.
Carlysle was arranging Prince Albion's bed chambers. The guards informed the head maid that the Prince had escaped once more and the head maid appointed Kincaide the responsibility of caring for his room. This was not a rare occurence of course, but Carlysle still felt very well-humored whenever he was able to be in the Prince's chambers. He imagined what it would be like to be the Prince's friend. Actually, he wasn't sure the Prince had any friends… or whether it was even allowed. During this pensive stupor that Carly seemed to be entrenched in, he finished assorting the chamber's, with an almost perfect arrangement, as usual, and he began to stare out the window at the courtyard. There he spotted the prince and the princess. His pale face lit up with color, and he immediately began to run down the stairs to the courtyard. This was finally his chance, they had no guards or anybody around, he could finally speak to them for once! As he came to the door, bolting as fast as he could as to not be caught by any of the other help, he yelled out "Prince Albion! Princess Jasper!"
All the while, King Edric was within his courtroom, all the members of his court before him, and his wife Rowena, the wisest of all his court, beside him. "Today's matter at hand!" He began, his baritone voice echoing throughout the hall, filling everyone with a reassurance that Edric was a strong and wise king. This didn't last long, as the empty pause left the crowd confused. Edric leaned to his side to speak to his queen, Rowena, whispering "What is the matter at hand again?.." he looked at her with a puzzled expression that only she could see "I might have forgot… I think I might still be intoxicated from yesterday's festivities" he giggled.
(Oh I already hate the king)
She secretly clenched her fist behind her back, she hated that Albion was raised that way, under the force of just shut up and do what your told without question. He should be able to live his life freely and not have a care in the world Because he's a child, or at least be allowed to do things or make friends with his guards or maids if he wants too.
Ugh she hates there parents, and the situation they were in.
She'd run away with her brother If she could.
She held her little brother close as he leaned into her, feeling how he wasn't hugging back and holding himself. She had almost forgotten that getting kicked by a horse like that might actually hurt a child of his size. Suddenly, she felt like an idiot.
"Albion are you okay..? That was a pretty bad rejection by one of the horses..maybe we should get it looked at."
She moves to walk with him, moving to make sure he wasn't going to fall. She looked up at someone calling there names.
She looked up at…a servant? Well at least it wasn't one of the guards.
"yes…?"
He was sitting down at a small table when he heard the footprints coming close towards where he was, deep into the library and he quickly stood from his chair and smoothed out his clothing and his hair, making sure he looked presentable along with clearing his throat Incase it was one of the gentlemen of a noble family gotten lost, or it was Incase a maid had come down the wrong passage way, or perhaps sent to check on him.
He quickly was relieved when he saw his dearest coming close to him within his sight, his little darling. Standing there looking as beautiful as ever, a grin came upon his face as he made his way over too her.
"milady…I was wondering when you were going to get here."
The heat in her cheeks intensified, and she looked down, smiling bashfully. “You don’t need to call me that, you know… I’m no lady.” Sophia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I had to take extra care to be sure no one suspected where I am, that is why I’m a bit late. You need wonder no longer.”
Sophia fidgeted as she stood there, always at a loss for what to do around him. Her fingers pulled and tugged at each other, her body swayed back and forth. He was better at starting conversation than she, and so she waited, hoping he would say something first.
All the while, King Edric was within his courtroom, all the members of his court before him, and his wife Rowena, the wisest of all his court, beside him. "Today's matter at hand!" He began, his baritone voice echoing throughout the hall, filling everyone with a reassurance that Edric was a strong and wise king. This didn't last long, as the empty pause left the crowd confused. Edric leaned to his side to speak to his queen, Rowena, whispering "What is the matter at hand again?.." he looked at her with a puzzled expression that only she could see "I might have forgot… I think I might still be intoxicated from yesterday's festivities" he giggled.
Queen Rowena’s eyes flitted about the room, surveying the members of the court before landing on her husband. She was still recovering from internally cringing at the awkward pause, and for a moment she didn’t reply. Someone’s going assassinate him one of these days, surely, is what she had been thinking for the past twenty years, and she was surprised it hadn’t happened yet. Oh well. After all this time, she supposed she would wait another year. Perhaps he wouldn’t get assassinated, even. Maybe he would die from cholera instead.
“The war,” she murmured. “That Napoleón seems to have backed himself into a corner; we, along with the Spanish and Portuguese, have the chance to drive him out of Spain.”
"I'll be fine…" Albion muttered, still hunched over a bit as he headed towards the palace. "I'm getting it looked at anyway." He glanced up when he heard a voice calling his and Jasper's names, narrowing his eyes to try and see who it was. Huh? A servant? What's he doing out here? He glanced around, bewildered. There weren't other servants around, nor were there guards. He figured that this young servant probably wasn't supposed to be here. It was unusual for servants to rebel like this, but Albion didn't mind. It brought a bit more interest into his dreary life. He looks like he might be around my age… he's bigger than I am, though. "Hm…? Hello? Who are you?" He asked from across the courtyard, his voice a bit weaker than usual. He still had his arms around himself to feel more secure and to hide his wound, but blood was starting to seep through his shirt and was beginning to be visible above and below where his arms were.
He finally stopped running and caught his breath, the two royals in front of him looked at him confused. At that moment, he realized that he had prepared nothing to say when this moment came. He hadn't planned that far ahead. "Uh…" he began, looking up and down at the two royals. From up close they looked very different from their royal portraits, less creepy, more… alive. He looked at both of them, eyes shifting quickly. He noticed the prince was bleeding "Oh! Your highness, you're bleeding" he said, slightly in shock
"Yes? What is that you need?" She lifted a brow at the servant, he did happen to look younger then her, and around Albions age, despite the size of him. She looked him up and down trying to scan him for wuqtvhus intentions might be, the guards may not be here but you can sure bet Jasper is just as protective if not more.
As soon as she heard she was bleeding she immediately turned in alarm and looked at Albion, moving his arms away from his chest, she put a hand to her mouth.
No no no no how did I not notice?
"okay we need to go to get you bandaged up now."
She turned to the servant boy, and she didn't look happy.
"I need you to go ahead and get the doctor for him, as quick as you can. Now."
"I'm fine. I'm sure it isn't anything serious." Albion huffed a bit when Jasper pulled his arms away, holding himself again when he managed to free himself from her grasp. He kept walking towards the palace, keeping his head down and limping slightly. "We can't tell mother and father. They'll be furious if they found out I got myself hurt. It's nothing. I'll get bandaged up, but then that will have to be the end of it, okay?" He looked up at his sister, practically pleading her. He didn't want to be fussed over for what he assumed to be a minor injury, even though it hurt quite a bit. It would heal and his parents wouldn't even have to know about it. He knew how his father got whenever anything happened to his 'precious heir'.
The heat in her cheeks intensified, and she looked down, smiling bashfully. “You don’t need to call me that, you know… I’m no lady.” Sophia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I had to take extra care to be sure no one suspected where I am, that is why I’m a bit late. You need wonder no longer.”
Sophia fidgeted as she stood there, always at a loss for what to do around him. Her fingers pulled and tugged at each other, her body swayed back and forth. He was better at starting conversation than she, and so she waited, hoping he would say something first.
He chuckled softly, "Oh but I do….and you…my beautiful fair lady.." he moved closer to her where he was directly standing Infront of her and he moved to take the strand she tucked behind her ear to out it back Infront of her face.
"Well, you always make me wonder…but I do appreciate the extra effort. Thank you my little fox." He grinned at her, moving to grab her hand, and squeezes her hand gently.
Hearing the both of them, Carly tried to come to a compromise. He wanted to make a good impression for them. "Well, what if I go get him some bandages and come back? I know how to care for a wound like that" he said confidently. He wasn't entirely sure just how severe Albion's wound was, but he wanted to at least try and help, and he couldn't let them know he didn't know exactly what he was doing. " The royal medical doctor has been letting me watch his procedures as of late" this one was entirely true, though the doctor never really consented, he just didn't care enough to shove him off. "Should I go?" he asked, awaiting a direct response.
She sighed, not wanting to make Albion upset but he needed to get treated. Blood was never a good thing to see…she turned towards the servant and stared them down before exhaling.
"Yes, go quickly, and hurry back." She nodded to the servant, before moving look back at her little brother.
"you will say no word of this to anyone that you run into, not the queen or the king himself. You will go get the bandages and anything else and hurry right back." She was sure this was the safest way to get both ends…she wasn't just going to let him be hurt, but she knew she shouldn't gather a crowd to watch him walk to the doctor's room surrounded by people.
He moved to help Albion sit on a stool.
"I'm not supposed to speak to the royals anyw-" he stopped himself mid-sentence realizing his error. He stared in horror " I'll uh… get those bandages" he squeaked and then scurried off to the doctor's quarters. Once he got there, he saw the doctor fast at work on a surgery. He winced and looked away immediately, grabbing a roll of bandages from the table, making sure that the doctor had spare rolls, and he went back. When he got there, he saw Albion sitting on a stool, his sister next to him, looking worried. "I-I have the bandages" he announced.
He chuckled softly, "Oh but I do….and you…my beautiful fair lady.." he moved closer to her where he was directly standing Infront of her and he moved to take the strand she tucked behind her ear to out it back Infront of her face.
"Well, you always make me wonder…but I do appreciate the extra effort. Thank you my little fox." He grinned at her, moving to grab her hand, and squeezes her hand gently.
She let out a small breath at his words, smiling uncontrollably. The strand of hair tickled her skin, and she pulled it back again out of habit. “Of course, love.” She squeezed his hand in return. Nervous, but suddenly motivated by impulse, she stepped closer to him and laid her head on his chest, but keeping their hands clasped together.
“How are you today?” she asked, unsure of what else to say.
Queen Rowena’s eyes flitted about the room, surveying the members of the court before landing on her husband. She was still recovering from internally cringing at the awkward pause, and for a moment she didn’t reply. Someone’s going assassinate him one of these days, surely, is what she had been thinking for the past twenty years, and she was surprised it hadn’t happened yet. Oh well. After all this time, she supposed she would wait another year. Perhaps he wouldn’t get assassinated, even. Maybe he would die from cholera instead.
“The war,” she murmured. “That Napoleón seems to have backed himself into a corner; we, along with the Spanish and Portuguese, have the chance to drive him out of Spain.”
"Ah yes" he whispered again, as the room began to fill with raucous "Napoleon has been backed into a corner! This is our chance to attack and send that" he paused " Hellhound back where he belongs" with such a strong sentiment in his voice, he got a loud cheer and applause from the crowd " We might finally be able to win this lengthy war and have an era of peace. But it is always darkest before dawn, so I say, before then, we must give them all out brutality!" another roar from the crowd. "As king, I am ordering a conscription so all men in the British Isles will be able to know the glory of war!" The crowd roared less now, but the king was oblivious to the lesser reaction. He smiled looking at his wife, whispering a small blessing to her. " Now I order this council adjourned." Walking back to his throne, he chuckled, whispering to his wife again "I will be needing another drink after this"
(I'll just wait for a good time to jump in.)
Albion grumbled softly to himself as he listened to the conversation. I guess I don't really have any choice… I suppose it's for the best. I wouldn't want the wound to get infected and kill me or anything. He reluctantly allowed Jasper to usher him onto the stool, still holding his arms around himself as he glanced around uneasily. He didn't want to be seen, and he was clearly uncomfortable. With zero medical knowledge, he had no way of knowing exactly how serious his injury was. He just assumed that it would be fine.
She was staying by him trying not to worry about everything, it hadn't looked serious earlier but maybe that horse kick broke a rib bone and it was stabbing into his organs and causing internal bleeding? Maybe it puntured his skin?
Maybe the horses kick tore his skin apart and it's just bleeding?
Her mind was panicking as she hated seeing Albion even the slightest bit hurt. She barley noticed when the servant returned, "Good, check him over and bandage him up now."
He chuckled softly, "Oh but I do….and you…my beautiful fair lady.." he moved closer to her where he was directly standing Infront of her and he moved to take the strand she tucked behind her ear to out it back Infront of her face.
"Well, you always make me wonder…but I do appreciate the extra effort. Thank you my little fox." He grinned at her, moving to grab her hand, and squeezes her hand gently.
She let out a small breath at his words, smiling uncontrollably. The strand of hair tickled her skin, and she pulled it back again out of habit. “Of course, love.” She squeezed his hand in return. Nervous, but suddenly motivated by impulse, she stepped closer to him and laid her head on his chest, but keeping their hands clasped together.
“How are you today?” she asked, unsure of what else to say.
He was shocked but a good shocked, well not so shocked but just enough for a soft grin to appear on his face when she did that, he moved his other hand to hold her close to him and he moved to set his head on her head and exhale.
"how am I today? Well, however I was before me met does not matter, because you have already made my day 100% better just by being with me."
She was staying by him trying not to worry about everything, it hadn't looked serious earlier but maybe that horse kick broke a rib bone and it was stabbing into his organs and causing internal bleeding? Maybe it punctured his skin?
Maybe the horses kick tore his skin apart and it's just bleeding?
Her mind was panicking as she hated seeing Albion even the slightest bit hurt. She barely noticed when the servant returned, "Good, check him over and bandage him up now."
Carly came closer to Albion, blushing at how near he was to him, but shaking off the feeling. He checked the wound closer, and saw the imprint of a hoof-mark where the blood was coming from "Did you… get kicked by a horse?!" he exclaimed silently, making sure nobody but Albion and Jasper could hear. He checked the wound closer and began to feel it, gently, as to not hurt Albion. "You're very lucky there are no fractures. If there were, there would be no way of possibly hiding it." Carly took out the gauze " I'm not sure HOW exactly you were hit by a horse and not die, much less not have a single fractured bones, but some higher power must be extremely in your favor." He paused " I might need you to remove that shirt…" he blushed "B-but you don't have to"
Sophia giggled softly, enjoying their closeness. “Oh, I’m glad. I feel the same.”
Moving her other hand around his waist, she then murmured, “Well, I was feeling a bit tired before I came, so is it alright if we… if we just stay like this? Just for a moment?”
"How do you know it isn't fractured?" Albion asked, already beginning to unbutton his bloody shirt to pull it off. It wasn't too strange to him since royals were frequently dressed by servants. Once he had it off, the wound was clearly visible. There were lacerations in the shape of a hoof on the lower left part of his chest, and it seemed to be bleeding pretty steadily, especially now that the shirt wasn't on top of it to soak up some of the blood. The wound was already gaining an ugly bruise around it, and it was only getting deeper. Albion was holding himself together fairly well, but he was still visibly uneasy. Seeing the wound only made him more nervous, as well.
She took a deep breath in and out before turning to the servant.
"do what you need to do, but just fix him up and do it good. he needs to be patched up and we need to stop the bleeding." She was trying to keep herself calm so that she didn't start a panic between the three of them, honestly right now she's kinda mad at her parents but that issue could be addressed another time.
She put a hand on his hand, "Hey, it's gonna be okay alright? Your gonna be okay."
Albion closed his eyes, holding his breath and biting his lip a bit to keep quiet. He relaxed a little when Jasper reassured him, but he tried not to be obvious about it. "I'm f-fine…" He replied, exhaling shakily. "It's nothing. He… he said it wasn't fractured or whatever anyway, so that must be a good sign. I'm just getting worked up over something insignificant. Just need to… to keep quiet… deal with it…" He mumbled quietly to himself. "No one else needs to hear of it…"
